Meet the team: Jack Harrod – Chairman and Founder

Jack Harrod – Founder & Chairman

It's funny to think that 11 years ago, I didn't really know what futsal was!

I was around 20 years old when a good friend of mine, Ben Madden, kept asking me to come along to his college's senior futsal team.

I turned him down several times. I was focused on football and my coaching career, and as far as I was concerned, futsal was just indoor football.

Eventually, after plenty of persuasion from Ben, I gave in. It took just one session for me to realise how wrong I was.

A few weeks later, I'd made the squad and played my first competitive match against Loughborough University. We lost about 15–1! 😂

Despite the result, I was completely hooked.

So I suppose I've got Ben to thank (or blame!) for everything that's happened over the last 10 years! 😂

At the time, I was working within the academy at Ipswich Town Football Club and had ambitions of starting something of my own in coaching. I quickly realised there was very little futsal available locally for younger players.

So, in 2016, Braintree Futsal Academy was born.

What started as a youth academy gradually grew. A few years later, we were offered the opportunity to take over the college's senior National League team, and over time we filled the gaps between our youngest players and seniors.

Today, we've built a complete pathway from U6 through to U19, alongside two senior teams competing nationally.

And that's something I'm incredibly proud of.

A hobby or an addiction?

One thing people might not realise is that Braintree Futsal has never been my full-time job.

It's always been a hobby, although I'd probably describe it as more of an addiction! 😂

And I genuinely believe that's one of the reasons we've been successful.

Of course, balancing work, family life, coaching and travelling isn't always easy. My family have certainly made sacrifices over the years.

But I can finish a long day at work and still genuinely look forward to getting to the sports hall that evening. There isn't a day I don't look forward to coaching.

It's never felt like a chore, and I hope that never changes.

Ten years of proud moments

People often ask what my proudest achievement has been, but I genuinely couldn't choose just one.

At first, it was simply running our first session. Then it was travelling abroad with our first squad, winning our first international trophy, establishing our senior team and eventually creating a complete club from bottom to top.

Seeing our first academy player represent England at U19 level was another huge moment.

Today, we have multiple players involved in the England U17, U19 and U23 pathways, with several working towards potential selection for the European qualifiers in Portugal next March.

We also have players who've been with us for the entire 10 years, growing up alongside the club. That's pretty special.

The proudest moments keep changing because we keep progressing, and hopefully the biggest ones are still to come.

We're a futsal club!

Something I've always been passionate about is that Braintree is a futsal club, not simply an indoor football coaching session.

We're here to develop futsal players.

Travelling around Europe over the years has been a massive inspiration. The futsal culture abroad is incredible, and every time I return home, I'm reminded of what we're trying to create.

I've always believed that if you can play futsal, you can play football. But just because you can play football doesn't necessarily mean you can play futsal.

We've had players progress into professional football environments, which is fantastic, but we're also getting closer to seeing our own academy players move abroad to pursue professional futsal careers.

That's something we're fully behind and incredibly excited about.

Looking ahead to 2036

Rather than asking where I'd like Braintree Futsal to be in another 10 years, I'd ask where I'd like English futsal to be.

My biggest hope is that we're much closer to becoming a professional sport.

The game is growing, the quality is improving and clubs across the country are doing fantastic work. But we're still a long way behind much of Europe, and I believe we need significantly more backing from the FA to truly progress.

Until then, we'll keep doing what we can: developing players, creating opportunities and building a genuine futsal culture.

Finally, thank you!

Over the last decade, so many people have contributed to our journey.

Coaches, players, parents, volunteers, sponsors and partners. Some have been involved for a year, others for the entire 10 years.

Every single one has played a part, and I'm incredibly grateful.

What started as a small idea when I was 20 years old has become something I could never have imagined.

Here's to the next 10 years! 💙

Jack

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